See Also:

Music in Worship

I.As we look at the denominations around us, we find that the vast majority use musical
instruments in their worship services.

A.Oddly, we don’t. Why not? What harm would there be in using them? Why can’t
we be like those around us?

B.I heard a similar reasoning before - I Sam. 8:4-7. We want a king like everyone else.

C.Following the crowd is not enough reason.

II.What kind of music did God ask for?

A.New Testament music

1.Matt 26:30 - They sung a hymn, Mark 14:26

2.Acts 16:25 - Paul and Silas sang in jail

3.Rom. 15:9 - I will sing to your name

4.I Cor. 14:15 - I will sing with spirit and understanding

5.Eph. 5:19 - Sing and make melody to the Lord

6.Col. 3:16 - Sing with grace in your hearts to God

7.Heb. 2:12 - I will sing Christ’s praise in the congregation

8.James 5:13 - If you are cheerful, sing praise

B.There are no verses indicating that the New Testament church used instrumental
music

III.What kind of music did the early church use?

A.These Biblical verses should be sufficient, but it sometimes we can affirm what we
know is true through history.

B.Instrumental Music in the Worship, M.C. Kurfees, 1950 - “We know that
instruments preformed an important function in the Hebrew temple service and in the
ceremonies of the Greeks. At this point, however, a break was made with all
previous practice, and although the lyre and flute were sometimes employed by the
Greek converts, as a general rule the use of instruments in worship were condemned.
Many of the fathers, speaking of religious song, make no mention of instruments;
others, like Clement of Alexandria and St. Chrysostom, refer to them only to
denounce them.”

C.The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Samuel Macauley
Jackson - “Because the organ was a means of enjoyment by society in general, its use
was rejected in early Christian circles.”

D.A History of the Christian Church, Lars P. Qualben - “Singing formed an essential
part of the Christian worship, but it was in unison and without musical
accompaniment.”

E.Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, John M’Clintock -
During later periods, “neither Ambrose, nor Basil, nor Chrysostom in the noble
encomiums which they severally pronounced upon music make any mention of
instrumental music. Basil indeed, expressly condemns it as ministering only to the
depraved passions of men . . . Even Gregory the Great, who towards the end of the
sixth century added greatly to the existing church music, absolutely prohibited the
use of instruments.”

F.Do we see a pattern here? The fact that the New Testament was silent on the matter
of instruments was taken as a commandment by early Christians to forbid the use of
musical instruments in worship.

IV.So why is it used today?

A.Various attempts are mentioned in history at introducing musical instruments into
the worship.

1.The earliest mention attempt was by Clement in Alexandria during the
second century where he suggested substituting the harp to prevent the use of
the wordly sounding flute. As the earlier quotes show, this move was
rejected by the church as a whole.

2.“Pope Vitalian is related to have introduced organs into some of the churches
in Southern Europe about A.D. 670, ...” Pepin, the king of the Franks, then
placed one into the Church of St. Corneille at Compeigne and Charlemagne
had one installed at Aix-la-Chapelle. Upon its introduction, it nearly
threatened division in the Roman Catholic Church, so it was removed to
preserve the unity of the church.

3.It was later introduced a second time and the objections were ignored and
overridden.

B.What is the Church of Christ?, V.E. Howard - “In the Greek church, the organ never
came into use [though it has been added recently], but after the eighth century it
became common in the Latin church, not, however, without opposition form the side
of the Monks -- the reform church discarded it; and though the church of Basil very
early introduced it, it was in other places admitted only sparingly and after long
hesitations.”

C.Notice the introduction was gradual, having to overcome many objections.

D.Jackson - “Smaller organs were at first employed before singing classes, especially in
cloisters, to fix the correct tune.”

E.“It was used in the churches, first, to give the key-tone, then to accompany vocal
music alternatively, and finally also to prefix a prelude a hymn.”

V.History repeats itself

A.“In the Dallas Morning News of June 3, 1995, an article by Helen Parmley reported
that many churches of Christ are interjecting mechanical music into their worship
assemblies. An interview with the ‘Music Minister of the Farmer’s Branch Church
of Christ’ revealed that this church has begun the use of mechanical instruments of
music in their worship.

“This article also reported that other churches of Christ in the Dallas area have begun
using mechanical music in their special programs but have not moved them into the
worship assemblies for fear of alienating older, more traditional thinking members.
The music director of another large Dallas church, who asked not to be named, said,
‘We are moving ahead. The banning of musical instruments is more of a
tradition than something based on Scripture.’

B.Does this sound familiar? Does it sound like a repeat of the actions taken during the
seventh century?

VI.Is accapella singing, which by the way means “in the style of the church”, just a tradition?

A.We noted at the beginning that the only style of music mentioned in the New
Testament in connection with worship is singing.

We know that instruments preformed an important
function in the Hebrew temple service and in the
ceremonies of the Greeks. At this point, however, a
break was made with all previous practice, and
although the lyre and flute were sometimes employed
by the Greek converts, as a general rule the use of

instruments in worship were
condemned. Many of the
fathers, speaking of religious
song, make no mention of
instruments; others, like
Clement of Alexandria and St.
Chrysostom, refer to them only
to denounce them.

Instrumental Music in the Worship, M.C. Kurfees, 1950

Because the organ was a means of enjoyment
by society in general, its use was rejected in
early Christian circles.

The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Samuel Macauley Jackson

Singing formed an essential part of the
Christian worship, but it was in unison and without musical accompaniment.

A History of the Christian Church, Lars P. Qualben

During later periods, “neither Ambrose, nor Basil, nor
Chrysostom in the noble encomiums which they severally
pronounced upon music make any mention of instrumental
music. Basil indeed, expressly condemns it as ministering
only to the depraved passions of men . . . Even Gregory the

Great, who towards the end of the sixth
century added greatly to the existing
church music, absolutely prohibited the
use of instruments.”

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, John M’Clintock

“Pope Vitalian is related to have introduced organs into
some of the churches in Southern Europe about A.D. 670,
...” Pepin, the king of the Franks, then placed one into the
Church of St. Corneille at Compeigne and Charlemagne had

one installed at Aix-la-Chapelle. Upon
its introduction, it nearly threatened
division in the Roman Catholic Church,
so it was removed to preserve the unity
of the church.

In the Greek church, the organ never came into use [though
it has been added recently], but after the eighth century it
became common in the Latin church, not, however, without
opposition form the side of the Monks -- the reform church

discarded it; and though the church of Basil very
early introduced it, it was in other places admitted
only sparingly and after long hesitations.

What is the Church of Christ?, V.E. Howard

Smaller organs were at first employed before singing classes,
especially in cloisters, to fix the correct tune . . . It was used
in the churches, first, to give the key-tone, then to
accompany vocal music alternatively, and finally also to

prefix a prelude a hymn.

The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Samuel Macauley Jackson

In the Dallas Morning News of June 3, 1995, an article by Helen Parmley
reported that many churches of Christ are interjecting mechanical music into
their worship assemblies. An interview with the ‘Music Minister of the
Farmer’s Branch Church of Christ’ revealed that this church has begun the use
of mechanical instruments of music in their worship.

This article also reported that other
churches of Christ in the Dallas area
have begun using mechanical music in
their special programs but have not
moved them into the worship assemblies
for fear of alienating older, more
traditional thinking members. The
music director of another large Dallas
church, who asked not to be named,
said, “We are moving ahead. The
banning of musical instruments is
more of a tradition than something
based on Scripture.”

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